1. Field
Example embodiments relate generally to small cells within macro cells and in particular to an apparatus and/or method for determining configuration parameters for this heterogeneous network.
2. Related Art
Heterogeneous wireless networks (HetNets) are deployments of cells with differing coverage radii within a single geographic area. A typical configuration is one where macro (e.g., large) cells provide contiguous coverage over the area while pico or femto (e.g., small) cells cover local hot spots or coverage holes. When both the macro cells and small cells share the same carrier frequency, the deployment is called a co-channel or shared-carrier deployment.
For example, a HetNet may include macro base stations (BSs) and small cell BSs. Macro BSs provide wireless coverage for user equipment (UEs) within the macro cells which may cover large geographical areas, while small cell BSs may provide wireless coverage for UEs located in the small cells which may cover smaller geographical areas within the coverage are of a macro BS. Parameters needed to configure BSs within HetNets include patterns for an almost blank subframe (ABS). A blank subframe contains no transmission from the macro cell. An “almost blank” subframe is a subframe with reduced transmit power (e.g., reduced from a maximum transmit power) and/or a reduced activity subframe (e.g., contains less data than a fully loaded subframe).